The long-term objectives of the on-going MBRS SCORE Program at Clark Atlanta University dubbed, "CAU-RIBS" for Clark Atlanta University Research Impetus in the Biomedical Sciences Program, are to enhance on-going faculty biomedical research capabilities, encourage and augment efforts of new faculty in developing biomedical research programs; fostering a productive research environment. The facility, in which the proposed research of MBRS SCORE Principal Investigators will be conducted, is the Thomas W. Cole, Jr. Research Center for Science and Technology. This 189,000 square feet facility offers increased research space for investigators, categorized into interdisciplinary Centers, from the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Engineering and Physics. Additionally, multi-user facilities for Cell and Tissue Culture, Electron and Confocal Microscopy, Glass Blowing, Molecular Biology, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance are readily accessible. The MBRS SCORE Program at Clark Atlanta University emphasizes the interdisciplinary approach to solving research problems in the biomedical sciences. This proposal includes fourteen subprojects representing three departments and six research centers. The University views the MBRS SCORE Program's support of individual investigator's research efforts as, a priori, providing the opportunities for them to increase/augment their competitive skills for entrance into the general (national) pool of competition for biomedical research support. These objectives will be fostered by the exemplary atmosphere of research and scholarship provided. These objects likewise provide for the biomedical research involvement of undergraduate and graduate research assistants promoting the acquisition of research skills and shared incentives for inquiry in the biomedical sciences. [unreadable] [unreadable]